Disney pics!

[summer_jackel]

OK, so I should post Diz pics. There are several. Florida was a fascinating place; I would certainly not want to live there, but it was sure neat to visit. The place was hot and moist and green, full of lizards, palmetto and ponds everywhere. The sky and clouds were bigger and fluffier---more warm moisture in the air, I guess---and the trees bore Spanish moss, blade-fronded tropical ferns and tillandsias. Very very cool. There were really wonderful coasters. madmanatw and corpsefairy are fantastic traveling companions, and it was great to see joreth again. I came back happier than I was when I left, it seems to be holding, and that's a good thing.

By far my favorite bit of the World of Disney was the Animal Kingdom; I guess when you have as much money as Diz does you can throw a damn fine zoo, and they did. All of the animals have excellent, spacious, grassy enclosures and seem very well cared for. There's a thing where they drive you through a few large paddocks full of free-running African animals in a big jeep, which is just utterly too cool for words. A rhinoceros came just about close enough to touch. Hard to have a more excellent zoo experience than that.

There were also (native) black vultures here and there, which delighted me. And this place has white ibis instead of pigeons; how neat is that?




See? Vultures. (Native vultures who put themselves on display. Why let the spoonbills get all the admiration?)









Rhino family from a distance


Baby elephants playing in the water. This broke my brain. Way too cute.




They had okapi. I had never seen one. What absolutely gorgeous animals.




I forget what this little guy is, but he had to have been designed by Edward Gorey. Those toes.


Little bitty duck in a crystal clear cichlid pool. Heaven. What could be more perfect?


Achingly beautiful pond.


Photos don't do him justice.






Komodo dragon. Really.



The tigers are pretty much always my favorite.


They were excited about being let in (probably to be fed, knowing cats), and I caught this affectionate moment. Awww.


Tigers are so gorgeous.








This Mandarin drake is pretty darn gorgeous himself.


There were a lot of very relaxed egrets about (again, this is a native bird). I've certainly never gotten this close to them.


Relaxin' lemur!


and roos


Military Macaw


Awwwwwwwww mallard


This tree duck sports two conflicting tiger prints...how neat is that? Little duck, hats off to your excellent taste in fashion.


Black swans are so very lovely.


Nesting spoonbills! <3




Watusi cattle. Those horns seem too big to be real, but apparently they are hollow and help the cow dissipate heat.


Awwwwwwwwww baby elephant.


Yawning lioness


That rhino, almost too close to photograph.


I forget what kind of antelope he is, but unfortunately he is very rare.


Ferns in the trees!




Babirusa! I was really thrilled to see these guys, even though they were being pretty sleepy. Here's the boar; note his tusks growing through his face.


and the very pretty sow. I love babirusa.


The koi pond in Epcot. Diz does perfect fishponds.




At the lotus pond, also at Epcot, I was staring into the plants for some time before I spotted this fellow. I haven't looked up what he is yet, but some sort of heron? Very cute.



I can make my neck long!




Random ibis.




Madmanatw and I at Epcot.


Corpsefairy and I with Frozone!


EDIT: how could I have forgotten the anteater? Chaos, I think this guy is your long lost uncle. Can't you see the resemblance in the snout?

Comments

[raveness-d.livejournal.com]

1) BEAUTIFUL photos. :) <3 Black Swan.

2) Your little guy is a Green Heron.

3) I loved my Diz experience when I went several years ago. Wish I had had better company, but it is what it is. White Ibis' are awesome. Here is one of my encounters at Magic Kingdom:


4) Glad to hear you had such a great time!

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

That pic is just way too cute!

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Wow-- great shots! Love the anteater!

One favor, though: could you size-down the pic above the cut? It's catastrophically messing up my LJ page format.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Glad you liked them. Sorry, I put it all behind a cut.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

D'oh! Sorry about that-- any smaller size would have been cool. I love zoo pics: you never know when you'll catch an animal doing -just- that right look/pose/action. A couple of yours are killer: that heron sequence and the spoonbills are terrific.

[feuervogel]

DUCK BUTT!

Also, I find it hilarious that you're standing on the wall to be as tall as A. (I'd still be shorter than him.)

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

QUACK QUACK!

Dux are a favorite of mine, always.

Heh, it's true, A. is not a short guy.

[tinygalaxies.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to go in November!! Gorgeous photos from AK, but where are the Hyacinth macaw photos? Was the bird show open? Flights of Wonder? Did you go on any rides (Dinosaur!) HaHa Sorry, I am so excited to go in a few months but bummed it's only for four days versus the usual six that we spend :P

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Alas, the bird show was not open...I was sad. I didn't see any Hyacinths, but the scarlets and miltaries were gorgeous.

We went on a lot of rides...Expedition Everest was really excellent, as was the rockin' rollercoaster....oooh, coastertastic. Dinosaur wasn't my favorite; too many flashy strobelights and stress, I wanted more focus on the wonder of dinosaurs, really. Splash mountain is one of my faves, and it is better in FLA than it is in CA.

[corpsefairy.livejournal.com]

Flights of Wonder was down for rehab; I'm not sure when it opens again.

Funny you should ask about Dinosaur - we had a long conversation about it and why it isn't actually any fun. I mean, it SHOULD be fun; it uses the same ride system (and a nearly identical track, as far as I can tell) as Indy Jones at Disneyland, and that ride is fun for days. You take that plus dinosaurs and it should be a really excellent piece of work - but for some reason, it's not. It just falls flat. There's no art to the execution, the plot (such as it is) is boring and you don't care about the characters, and by far the best part of the ride occurs at the *exit*, when you see the little dinosaur wandering through the science facility on the security cameras.

Anyway, the thing just isn't fun. It's all DINOSAUR METEOR DINOSAUR METEOR BIG SCARY DINOSAUR LOTS OF METEORS!!! the end. Indy is waaaay better.

Everest, however, is the best Disney coaster ever. I love it so.

[tinygalaxies.livejournal.com]

The last two years we've gone we have not made the Dinosaur ride for one reason or another (broke down, too long of a wait, etc.) I only enjoy it because of the physical ride - being jerked and jumped around is fun! LoL You are completely right about the plot, though. We went on Everest for the first time last year and I enjoyed it, but my favorite rides are still Spaceship Earth (honky, I know) and Tower of Terror!!!

One year we plan to make it out to CA for Disneyland since we have never been. I think we are going to be a tad underwhelmed at how small it will be compared to DisneyWORLD, but I'm sure it will be great fun nonetheless!

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

You people and your Tower. It drops you!!!!! is all trembly and traumatized. So pretty, but so evil!

Indy Jones is definitely better than Dinosaur, which was disappointing. It should have been fun...bouncy track plus dinos, how could you go wrong?...but, well, I endorse everything Corpsefairy says above. Too bad. I love the idea of a dinosaur theme in AK, but alas they seem to have done it all wrong. Maybe they will fix it some day.

I have serious love for Everest coaster. I will admit that Splash Mountain continues to remain a personal favorite, though. Splash-y and furry, so much good.

[corpsefairy.livejournal.com]

Disneyland is a beautiful park! It's smaller than the Magic Kingdom, but it has more nooks and crannies, and I think the number of attractions is higher. There are things that are unique to Disneyland, like Alice, the Matterhorn, and Storybook Land. Also, ToonTown is way, WAY better at Disneyland. Do spend some time there walking around and poking things.

Oh and Pirates is far better. And the subs are there again, while they've been gone from WDW for years. The monorail is kind of laughably small, and the castle is *teensy*. Also, if you go during the fall, it's likely that you'll get to see the Haunted Mansion Holiday, in which Jack Skellington decorates the Mansion for the holidays. (The regular mansion is almost identical to the Florida version, so don't worry about missing it.) The HMH is a really special thing.

You'll probably be disoriented the first time you go; I certainly found the MK strange my first time! Big Thunder and the Mansion are on opposite sides of the river, for instance, and there's New Orleans Square instead of Liberty Square, and of course there's a MOUNTAIN where the Indy Speedway is.

Have you seen the updated Spaceship Earth yet? It may be cheesy, but heck, I still miss Horizons, which was much cheesier.

I heart Tower. The California version (in California Adventure) will make you sad, if you bother to go in that park at all. If you only have one day at Disneyland, I wouldn't.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Well, CA adventure does have that really delicious coaster. I like it lots. There is also Soarin' and a really top-notch flume water ride, and I am partial to those. But CA Adventure could have been so much better.

Fla. Tower was better, true. Both are diabolical inventions of pure terrifying evil. But perhaps the jackal doth protest too much; I am fond of pushing my edges because it makes me stronger and more sensitive, and that ride is definitely one of them.

[joreth]

Your photos turned out great! And it was also awesome to get to see you again and spend some time with you! Hopefully I'll make it out to CA sometime in the not-too-distant-future!

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

It was really great to see you, and I'd love to spend more time together whenever it's possible. If you ever care to see the north bay, you are more than welcome at my place.

[genmaicha.livejournal.com]

Mr. Long-Toes is an African Jacana. Jacanas are also called lilystriders or Jesus birds, because they can walk on floating vegetation--including that slightly under the surface, making them look like they walk on water.

I regret that I didn't spend as much time there when I got to visit. Wonderful photos.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the ID! Mr. Long-toes Jacana is one seriously impressively weird bird. I was impressed!

[troubleagain.livejournal.com]

DUCK BUTT!

Great pics!

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

QUCK QUACK!!!! Thank you. :D

[kynekh-amagire.livejournal.com]

Zoos are such fun. Looks like a nice one -- I always feel a little bit "aww" when I go to the San Francisco zoo. It's an old zoo, and while it's been renovated extensively, it still has a lot more exhibits than it really has space for them (although it's not the worst I've ever seen, by a long shot). Anyway, glad you had a good time. Your photos turned out gorgeous, and you chose to photograph a bunch of my favorite zoo (and non-zoo) animals, too, which tickles me. Gnu! Babirusa! Cichlids! VULTURES! Win! The tiger photos are splendid: I love how the stripes highlight blue.

I know you didn't ask for ID of any of these, but I have this compulsion: Mr.-or-Ms. Fashion Sense is a plumed whistling-duck, possibly with a misplaced hyphen. I think Mr.-or-Ms. I-Can-Make-My-Neck-Long is an American bittern, in which case, holyshit congratulations, they're notoriously difficult to spot. What with the being cryptic and pointy and swaying when when the breeze moves the reeds. Oh, and your rare antelope is a bontebok. :>

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Oh, you should always feel free to ID anything I post and don't, especially Birds of Questionable Identity.

Raveness above said green heron, but a quick google image poke makes me think that my flexibly-necked friend is more likely to be a bittern. She certainly did not make herself easy to spot. I was doing a bit of the periodic attitude-adjustment necessary to the enjoyment of Disney parks (no crowds here, no corporate weird, I'm just quietly meditating upon this beautifful lotus pool, lalala) and had been staring at that spot for awhile before taking note of this bird. For her part, the bittern definitely noticed me noticing her and made direct eye contact with me. Obviously she was used to hiding in plain view and wasn't thrilled that someone noticed her.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Also, you are right about the plumed whistling-duck. Aiyee, Disney misidentified its duck!!!!!! I suppose there may well have been a tree duck in the same pen who was not making herself apparent, though. There was an African vulture...I forget which one...who sadly wasn't in the mood to meet her adoring public, either.

I'm thrilled about the black vultures, though. That was the bird I most wanted to spot while I was over there, and I saw a flock of them.

[corpsefairy.livejournal.com]

It's not unlikely that they changed the animal in the exhibit without changing the sign. Since the signs are all done by Imagineering, it can take a long time to get them updated.

[dollbunny.livejournal.com]

Okapi always look like they got dressed in the dark. :)

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

hehh. That whistling-duck, too.

[troubleagain.livejournal.com]

We have black-bellied whistling ducks in our neighborhood. They're much more stylish. ;-)

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

I would love to see any whistling-duck in the wild. We have a lot of fantastic wild ducks around here...merganser, goldeneye, bufflehead, ruddy if you know where to look for them, scaup, scoters, the occasional redhead and canvasback. Nothing neotropical, of course. Black bellied whistling ducks are gorgeous!

I don't know how much more stylish a duck can get than conflicting tiger prints, though. ;)

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

...oh, and we have mallards, of course. Many many mallards.

[corpsefairy.livejournal.com]

When we were at the okapi pen, one barbarian said, "They'd look good on my barbecue! Har har har!"

I wanted to put him on my barbecue.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

And you're a vegetarian!

I bit back a couple of comments to that choice comment, bit the main one was something to the effect of, 'no, I think you would look much better on mine. Your meat probably has more marbling than that okapi, and you would be easier for me to dress out, anyway.'

It took effort. I almost said something. I decided that it wasn't worth getting into a fight at Disney and kicked out on our first day. ;)

[synnabar.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, all your photos are wonderful. Thank you for sharing them! :)

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

You're most welcome! I'm glad you liked them.

[chiere.livejournal.com]

YAY Animal Kingdom!! I helped make a lot of the signage for that, and do some faux painting and all. Also, Rockin' Rollercoaster, helped make that. Helped make a lot of the ride queues and scenic dressing.

The black vultures are Turkey Buzzards and we call the white egrets Cow Birds because they stalk the livestock and pick off the bugs. They are fun to watch, as they will ride around on the horses and pick off those big black flies. Of course, they also poop on the horses, eww,...

[cphoenix.livejournal.com]

1) Thank you for posting beauty.

2) Re the barbecue comment: I once heard someone say, while sitting in the National Air and Space Museum, "What's the big deal? You've seen one plane, you've seen them all."

3) Thank you again.

4) Don't you wish humans were big and strong enough to play with tigers? I do...

[larylich.livejournal.com]

I see you posted pictures of Lions, tigers... and their food.

The rhino capsized!